Prof. Dr. Friedrich Krell was born in 1928. He studied music and chemistry at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittemberg between 1947 and 1951. He was a teacher at the extended secondary school in Wernigerode since 1951. Right at the start of his work he founded the mixed youth choir. The ensemble, known today as the Wernigerode Radio Youth Choir, enjoys international recognition. Friedrich Krell is a voice teacher whose main aim is to achieve a special ideal in sound quality. During his scientific work in the field of choral music he was primarily concerned with the problem of perceiving and performing 16th century music, as he wrote in his dissertation in 1970. In 1988 Friedrich Krell founded the “Wernigeröder Singakademie”, in 1991 he was appointed to be the director of the Wernigerode College of Music that was built upon his special classes for music. In 1994 the Federal State Music Council of Sachsen-Anhalt charged him with the formation of the Federal State Youth Choir of Sachsen-Anhalt, which has also earned significant artistic recognition since then. Friedrich Krell is a renowned advisor, lecturer at courses for choral conductors and an internationally acting adjudicator for several choral competitions. For his outstanding contributions to the choral movement he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2003.

Ralf Eisenbeiß was born in 1952 in Zeulenroda. After his secondary school examination he studied pedagogy, German philology and musical education. He received his PhD in 1979 at the Pedagogical University of Zwickau. From 1978 to 1981, he studied choir and orchestra conducting at the Franz Liszt Conservatory in Weimar.

Ralf Eisenbeiß was working as the director of the choral department at the Pedagogical University in Zwickau and appointed professor for choir conducting and choral singing in 1987. He was conductor of the renowned Pedagogical University Zwickau Choir. With his choir he performed a wide repertoire of compositions for a cappella choirs and with orchestra, too. Under his direction the choir won numerous prizes at national and international choir competitions.

Ralf Eisenbeiß was lecturer at the central seminar for choral conductors in Berlin and organized numerous workshops himself. He often appears as guest conductor at home and abroad. Since almost 30 years he works as artistic director of INTERKULTUR. Ralf Eisenbeiß is founder of the Int. Robert Schumann Choir Competition in Zwickau and one of the founders of the World Choir Games. Since 1992 he was responsible for more than 150 international competitions of INTERKULTUR in Germany, Italy, Korea, Indonesia, China, Austria, Spain, USA and other countries. Ralf Eisenbeiß is very often invited as a juror in national and other international choir competitions all over the world.

Peter Habermann received his first musical education as a member of the Dresden Kreuzchor. This was followed by a course of Vocal Studies in Dresden which he passed with a First Class Honours degree to be a singing teacher. Since 1984, he has been teaching at the Landesgymnasium für Musik Wernigerode. His scope of work covers both the field of vocal training and the choral education of this institution’s students.

For many years, he acted as a Deputy Artistic Director of the Rundfunkjugendchor Wernigerode with Friedrich Krell. Later, he led the institution’s Children Choir with great success before he became Artistic Director of the Rundfunkjugendchor in 1996, a responsibility that he held until 2004 and has been holding again from 2008 until today.

His work with this internationally renowned ensemble has been rewarded with numerous prizes, and has resulted in many CD recordings as well as concert tours both at home and abroad.

In 2003, he founded the Wernigerode Chamber Choir, a project choir comprising former Rundfunkjugendchor members which he led until 2010. He is also committed to amateur music: for 10 years, he conducted the men’s choir of the village Drübeck. Peter Habermann is an active singer, speaker and juror for INTERKULTUR events and the German Choral Contest.

- in memoriam -

Christian Ljunggren was born in 1942. He studied music at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm as well as musicology and theology at the University of Uppsala. For many years he worked at the Music Department of the Swedish National Broadcasting Company, and was responsible for the presentation and programming regarding music.

He was the conductor of the Adolf Fredrik Madrigal Choir since their foundation (1965 and 1974). He was the first President of the Swedish Choral Directors Association (1986 – 1998) and President of KÖRSAM, the joint committee of the Swedish choral organisations (1997 – 2004). From 1997-1999  he worked for the of IFCM, the International Federation for Choral Music, as the Secretary General from 1997-1999 and as a liaison officer (until 2005).

He was one of the Artistic Directors of INTERKULTUR and the Artistic Director of the World Choir Games. Due to his engagement as a clinician for seminars and workshops around the world and having built up the INTERKULTUR series of seminars in China the Swede gained growing recognition since 2003.

Christian Ljunggren has written numerous articles in Swedish and international magazines and was also a keen arranger of choral music.

Peter Habermann received his first musical education as a member of the Dresden Kreuzchor. This was followed by a course of Vocal Studies in Dresden which he passed with a First Class Honours degree to be a singing teacher. Since 1984, he has been teaching at the Landesgymnasium für Musik Wernigerode. His scope of work covers both the field of vocal training and the choral education of this institution’s students.

For many years, he acted as a Deputy Artistic Director of the Rundfunkjugendchor Wernigerode with Friedrich Krell. Later, he led the institution’s Children Choir with great success before he became Artistic Director of the Rundfunkjugendchor in 1996, a responsibility that he held until 2004 and has been holding again from 2008 until today.

His work with this internationally renowned ensemble has been rewarded with numerous prizes, and has resulted in many CD recordings as well as concert tours both at home and abroad.

In 2003, he founded the Wernigerode Chamber Choir, a project choir comprising former Rundfunkjugendchor members which he led until 2010. He is also committed to amateur music: for 10 years, he conducted the men’s choir of the village Drübeck. Peter Habermann is an active singer, speaker and juror for INTERKULTUR events and the German Choral Contest.

Mārtiņš Ozoliņš is the Chief Conductor of the Latvian National Opera and has worked as the guest conductor with Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Kaunas Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Tampere Philarmonic Orchestra, and Orchestra della Fondazione Teatro Lirico “Giuseppe Verdi” di Trieste. He is a graduate of the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music Choir Conducting Department with Prof. Edgars Račevskis and Symphony Orchestra Conducting Department with Prof. Imants Resnis. He improved his professional skills with Helmuth Rilling, Gintaras Rinkevičius, and Vassily Sinaisky. He is the Head of the Department of Orchestra Conducting at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music since 2010.

He has been the laureate of several international conducting competitions including 4th Jorma Panula Conducting Competition. Mārtiņš Ozoliņš has toured to Moscow, Mexico, Tamper, Trieste, Catania, Muscat, Leipzig, Gdansk etc. Mārtiņš Ozoliņš was the Artistic Director of the brass orchestra “Rīga” (2011–2015). He has been the conductor of the LNO since 2005 and the Chief Conductor of the LNO since 2013. From 1997 - 2016 he was artistic director and conductor of mixed choir "Sonore".

Friedrich Lessky was born in 1934. After high school he got a degree in musical pedagogy, choir conducting and organ at the Vienna Academy for Music and Figurative Arts, as well as in history and musicology at Vienna University.

From 1964 to 2000, he was professor and later director of the music school Wiener Musikgymnasium and assistant teacher at the department of music and figurative arts at the Vienna University. In 1957 with a students’ choir from Vienna, he won a first prize at the international choir competition in Arezzo.

Friedrich Lessky founded in 1968 the Chamber Choir of the Vienna Music School (today: Friedrich-Lessky-Choir). With this choir he has obtained outstanding placings in many international competitions and has made more than 40 concert tours travelling to almost all European countries as well as to North and South America. For ten years he has been artistic director of the well known Wiener Singakademie. His productions have been broadcasted in various radio and TV programmes as well as in other registrations.

Friedrich Lessky is also founder and artistic director of the Viennese international choir competition "Franz Schubert", and he is vice president of the Schubert-Gesellschaft Wien-Lichtental. Friedrich Lessky is regularly invited to be a member of the juries at international choir competitions. Due to his activity in the field of choir music, Friedrich Lessky has been awarded important prizes, among others the medal of merit of the Austrian Republic Großes Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich.

Mia Makaroff is a composer, arranger, music teacher and a choral conductor. In 2003, she graduated from the Sibelius Academy as a Master of Music in Music Education studies. Her work experience includes teaching music in schools, working with choirs, composing, creating and conducting different music projects.

Many well-known song groups and choirs have brought Mia Makaroff's music to a wider audience, such as Rajaton, King's Singers, Cantus, Amarcord and others. She has been involved in many national and international projects, such as "Song Bridge", bilingual musical "Crown Children", the mass "Diligam Te" and "The New Carmina". Further she has held master classes of composing for children choirs in Belgium, Italy and Russia. Mia Makaroff has also worked as a juror and a lecturer in choir competitions and festivals, for example in the 10th World Choral Games in Tshwane in South Africa. Her favorite themes are creativity, rhythmics and enhancing communication. Also theatre music is one big interest of hers.

Paul Smith is an innovative and creative performer, conductor, composer, an inspirational educator and an empowering public speaker.

Smith has been singing for nearly 25 years, first as a boy chorister with the choir of Westminster Abbey, and, since 2005 with VOCES8. As a recording artist with Decca Classics, Smith has featured on best-selling albums.

As co-founder of VOCES8, author of The VOCES8 Method and CEO of the VOCES8 Foundation, his annual program sees him working globally in prestigious concert venues, festivals, schools and universities.

Paul is passionate about the impact singing and the arts can have in the widest possible context – from academic improvement to social skills and building more cohesive communities. He uses that passion to design and deliver unique, inclusive and uplifting performance projects.

Since its inception in 2007 the VOCES8 Foundation has worked with 400,000 young people. Projects have included massed singing performances at the Royal Opera House (London) and Cité de la Musique(Paris).

As a composer, Paul Smith writes regularly for vocal groups, choirs, orchestras and soloists.

Smith has given speeches and created sessions on music and leadership, teamwork, music and creativity, health and wellbeing, and The VOCES8 Method. Engagements at international conferences included the ACDA National conventions, Europa Cantat and the London Music Education Expo.